Lee Cattermole lasted little longer than twenty minutes yesterday before being sent off for two yellow cards. The former Latics midfielder seems to have reached the limitations of his power as both his passing and pace were woefully exposed.
In the end he took his frustration out after a six yard sprint with Hugo Rodallega. The Columbian brought down as he raced into the box marked the final straw for the referee who immediately offered Cattermole a seat in the stands.
Most annoying for the Latics was the way they failed to capitalise on playing ten men for over 70 minutes.
Martinez had chosen to strat with the team that faced Tottenham for obvious reasons. Whilst this worked down in London were defending was the order of the day, it resulted in a laboured attacking display as the three forward players on display struggled to find a way through.
Ronnie Stam is not a right winger, whilst both defensive midfielders Hendry Thomas and Momo Diame were not needed once Sunderland had gone down to ten, one would have done.
Immediately after the break, Di Santo and Charles N'Zogbia came on, whilst Tom Cleverley joined htem for the final fifteen minutes.
The arrival of this trio lead to an onslaught on the Black Cats goal as the Latics dominated possession with players who were happy to play on the edge of the opposition area rather than the half way line.
What was even more frustrating was the soft way the Latics conceeded mid-way through the second half.
Languid defending again from the unimpressive duo of Momo Diame and Maynor Figueroa allowed Hendserson space to pick out a cross for Asamoah Gyan who had inexplicably been allowed to pull between the two centre halfs.
Fair play it was a good finish for Gyan but firstly the cross shouldn't have come in, and one of those defenders should have attacked the ball with his head and looped it out for a corner, instead both Alcaraz and Gohouri were left looking foolish.
Thank fully Alcaraz, who had an otherwise impressive game, made up for the goal conceeded as he deflected Tom Cleverely's powerful volley into the Sunderland goal.
On the plus side, the display was commanding from the Latics as they controlled the game, both when Sunderland had eleven, and then further when they had ten. The memories of the disasterous opening day game with Blackpool seem firmly in the past.
What must be erradicated is the sloppy defensive errors that plauged our season last time out and seems set to be a significant blog on the copy paper this season. For all the good attacking work that is being done, soft errors at the back are holding the Latics back.
Here is the reaction of the two managers.
Roberto Martinez
We weren't as sharp as we normally are with our ball possession, and the sending-off really made things difficult for us. Sunderland started to think all they had to was get organised and try not to concede, and we were the ones taking the risks to win the game.
I am pleased about that, but to go 1-0 down gave us a big mountain to climb. But I was delighted with the responsibility we took as a team and we managed to find the solutions to get back in the game.
We created a couple of good opportunities before the goal, and for me it was a completely different performance to the one at Spurs, but a very good reaction by us. We had to help each other today and we worked extremely hard as a team. If we carry on like that I am sure the results will come.
Antolin loves to take responsibility. He is a real leader. Obviously his job is to defend, but when he can help in going forward, he has shown he can unlock a defence. And that is great to see.
Our substitutes made a great impact off the bench. And that is pleasing to have such good competition for places. Playing at home, you always want to get the three points and it's important we always try to take responsibility. And this was another step in the right direction.
The only thing Ali had to do in the second half was pick the ball out of the net, and that is the disappointing part. That's where we need to get better as a team. We need to sense danger and stop teams getting those sorts of opportunities against us.
It was the perfect ball for a striker who has world-class talent, and they took advantage of that. If you look at the options on the bench, it is a real healthy situation for us to be in.
If you even look at the players who weren't on the bench, it shows you how strong our squad is at the moment. It is very young and very enthusiastic, and we just need a little bit of time to gel. But sometimes in football you have to go through the difficulties to find the solutions.
It's not about individuals, the whole team was just happy to get the goals. The dressing room was actually unhappy afterwards because we wanted the three points, but I am just pleased with the reaction and the character.
We have plenty to work with, and it sends a real message out. We have a team that is going to give us a lot of happy times this season.
Steve Bruce
I have no complaints about the red card. The one thing Lee has to do is learn. He got a yellow card before and he cannot make that kind of challenge or go to ground. He made it easy to the referee.
We're going to have a look at the situation with Lee - it's becoming ridiculous. Once he's been booked he can't make that type of challenge.
Next game
Next up for the Latics is the visit of money men Manchester City to the DW Stadium next Sunday afternoon. This one is a 15.00 kick off on the 19th as the Latics will look to continue their excellent Premiership record against the blue half of Manchester.